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Thunderbolts Watch Order: Every MCU Appearance

Start with Black Widow and work down the list. All 4 titles below are in story order, and for now the list ends with Thunderbolts*. The Thunderbolts are the government’s own super-team, rebranded as the New Avengers.

Counting 3 films and 1 series season, the whole list runs about 10h 49m, with releases from 2018 to 2025. Next up is Avengers: Doomsday.

Who are the Thunderbolts?

The Thunderbolts are built on one of Marvel's best page-turn tricks. Kurt Busiek and Mark Bagley created them, and they first showed up in The Incredible Hulk #449 (January 1997), an issue written by Peter David with art by Mike Deodato Jr. They looked like a new hero team stepping in after the Avengers' absence. Then the final page of Thunderbolts #1 (April 1997) revealed they were the Masters of Evil in costume, assembled by Baron Helmut Zemo as Citizen V, alongside MACH-1, Techno, Atlas and Songbird, with Moonstone added as his enforcer.

Thunderbolts*, directed by Jake Schreier, opened in the United States on May 2, 2025. The lineup is Florence Pugh as Yelena Belova, Sebastian Stan as Bucky Barnes, Wyatt Russell as John Walker, David Harbour as Alexei Shostakov, Hannah John-Kamen as Ava Starr, and Lewis Pullman as Bob Reynolds, the Sentry. Olga Kurylenko also returns as Taskmaster. Julia Louis-Dreyfus returns as CIA director Valentina Allegra de Fontaine, who sends the group into a facility expecting them to kill each other and bury Project Sentry.

The asterisk in the title is a clue that pays off at the end of the film, and Marvel leaned into it after release. Pugh, Stan, Russell, Harbour, John-Kamen and Pullman are all announced for Avengers: Doomsday.

Spoiler Spoilers for Thunderbolts’s story: tap to reveal
  • Taskmaster is killed early on, in the vault where de Fontaine sends the group.
  • They survive, Bob's destructive alter ego the Void swallows New York in darkness, and the team talks him back rather than beating him.
  • De Fontaine then takes the credit publicly and introduces them as the New Avengers, which is what the asterisk was hiding. After the opening weekend, Marvel rebranded the film as The New Avengers, though Disney said it was never formally retitled.
  • A post-credits scene set 14 months later was filmed for Avengers: Doomsday.

Thunderbolts in story order

  1. 1

    Black Widow

    First appearanceJuly 9, 20212h 14m

    StreamDisney+

  2. 2

    Ant-Man and the Wasp

    2nd appearanceJuly 6, 20181h 58m

    StreamDisney+

  3. 3

    The Falcon and the Winter Soldier: Season 1

    3rd appearanceMarch 19, 20216 episodes

    StreamDisney+

  4. 4

    Thunderbolts*

    4th appearanceMay 2, 20252h 7m

    StreamDisney+

  5. 5

    Avengers: Doomsday

    Next upReleases December 18, 20262h 45m

    StreamNot out yet

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Thunderbolts FAQ

Why does Thunderbolts have an asterisk in the title?

It's a clue that pays off at the very end of the film, and Marvel leaned into it after the opening weekend. The full explanation is in the spoiler box on this page.

Who is on the Thunderbolts team in the movie?

Yelena Belova (Florence Pugh), Bucky Barnes (Sebastian Stan), John Walker (Wyatt Russell), Alexei Shostakov (David Harbour), Ava Starr (Hannah John-Kamen) and Bob Reynolds, the Sentry (Lewis Pullman). Olga Kurylenko also appears as Taskmaster.

Are the Thunderbolts in Avengers: Doomsday?

Yes. Pugh, Stan, Russell, Harbour, John-Kamen and Pullman are listed among the Avengers: Doomsday cast. It is dated December 18, 2026.

What order should I watch Thunderbolts in?

Follow the list above, which is in story order. It differs from release order in one place: Black Widow came out later than its story is set, so it sits earlier here. Release order works too, if you’d rather see things the way audiences did.

How many titles feature Thunderbolts?

4 so far (3 films and 1 series season), released from 2018 to 2025, covering Phases 3 to 5 of the MCU, with 1 more announced. That’s about 10h 49m of viewing.

How long does it take to watch every Thunderbolts appearance?

About 10h 49m for all 4 released titles. At two hours an evening, that’s roughly 6 sittings.

Do I need to watch the whole MCU to follow Thunderbolts?

No. These 4 titles tell the team’s own story. Of these, 2 are graded Essential, so start with those if you’re short on time.

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